Daniel Anthony Binchy (1899–1989) was a scholar of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and
Early Irish law
Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norma ...
.
He was educated at
Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...
(1910–16),
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
(UCD), and the
King's Inns
The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...
(1917–20), after which he was called to the
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
. He also studied at the universities of
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, and
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. From 1919 to 1920 he was Auditor of the
Literary and Historical Society of UCD. From 1949 he worked as a senior professor of Celtic studies at the
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...
. His activities are affectionately satirized in
Brian O'Nolan
Brian O'Nolan ( ga, Brian Ó Nualláin; 5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966), better known by his pen name Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth ce ...
's poem ''Binchy and
Bergin
Bergin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* James Bergin, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross
* John Daniel Bergin, New Zealand neurologist
* Mary Bergin, Irish folk musician
* Michael Bergin, American model
* Osborn Bergin ...
and
Best
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporation ...
'', originally printed in the ''
Cruiskeen Lawn'' column in the
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
and now included in ''The Best of Myles''. He was a close friend of
Frank O'Connor
Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on a ...
.
He served as
Ireland's ambassador to Germany from 1929 to 1932. While there he received instruction from
Rudolf Thurneysen
Eduard Rudolf Thurneysen (March 14, 1857 – 9 August 1940) was a Swiss linguist and Celticist.
Biography
Born in Basel, Thurneysen studied classical philology in Basel, Leipzig, Berlin and Paris. His teachers included Ernst Windisch and Hei ...
which allowed him to begin his study of Early Irish Law. He was, for a time, the main academic investigating the legal system and for some time his ideas were the orthodoxy. While his contributions still underlie the foundations, some of his analysis, however, has since been reexamined. Many of his attempts to connect early Irish law to
Celtic Law
A number of law codes have in the past been in use in the various Celtic nations since the Middle Ages.
While these vary considerably in details, there are certain points of similarity.
The Brehon Laws governed everyday life and politics in Ire ...
and even to
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
law have come under considerable doubt. However, his contributions are also lasting on account of his production of numerous translations and editions of legal texts. His final major work, the six-volume ''
Corpus Iuris Hibernici
Corpus is Latin for "body". It may refer to:
Linguistics
* Text corpus, in linguistics, a large and structured set of texts
* Speech corpus, in linguistics, a large set of speech audio files
* Corpus linguistics, a branch of linguistics
Music
* ...
'', collected almost all texts in the native Irish legal tradition, thus offering later scholars a firm ground to stand upon.
[D.A. Binchy, Corpus Iuris Hibernici, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies]
Binchy was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1962.
He was the uncle of the
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
Maeve Binchy
Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columni ...
and the academic
William Binchy
William Binchy is an Irish lawyer. He was the Regius Professor of Laws at Trinity College Dublin from 1992 to 2012.
Education
Binchy was educated at University College Dublin. He is a Barrister-at-Law and practised at the Irish Bar from 1968 t ...
.
References
External links
''Binchy and Bergin and Best'' by Flann O'Brien
{{DEFAULTSORT:Binchy, D. A.
Celtic studies scholars
1899 births
1989 deaths
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
Alumni of King's Inns
Alumni of University College Dublin
Ambassadors of Ireland to Germany
Auditors of the Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)
Binchy family
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
People educated at Clongowes Wood College
University of Paris alumni
20th-century Irish historians
Irish expatriates in Germany
Irish expatriates in France